(Of course there is no way to know since all channels are, in effect, price fixed.)

But using ESPN and about $4 a month as a yardstick, what is Versus worth?

Among many other things, ESPN brings viewers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR, MLS, the World Cup and hundreds and hundreds NCAA football and basketball games -- with almost everything in HD. It broadcasts the vast majority of NCAA bowl games (even owns a manyof them) and next season begins coverage of the BCS. It has deals in place with the Big East, ACC, Big Ten, Bix XII, Pac-10, SEC, Mountain West. The chances are overwhelming that if there is a college football or basketball game of national importance (with the exception of the CBS SEC deal) ESPN (or ABC) will carry it. If not ESPN/ABC, then CBS with is SEC deal, NBC with its Notre Dame contract, or even FSN with its Pac-10 and Big XII deals. ESPN has SportsCenter, updated throughout the day with, admittedly self-promoting, but major sports news nonetheless.

In general, ESPN tends to have rights to broadcast almost everything that might be a legitimate top story in an American newspaper's sports section.

That is not to slight the Tour de France nor the NHL. But in reality, when, with the possible exception the morning after the Stanley Cup concludes (it would depend on major NBA playoff or MLB news), or Lance winning the TDF again, are either of those events truly the top sports story to Americans?

So by that one measure you could say ESPN wins (at the very least) 363-2.

This won't assuage NHL lovers, TdF fans, or those who enjoy rodeo or other the second and third-tier football games Versus has lined up from inventory its competitors simply didn't want or have the space to run in their crowded schedules.

Now, to be sure, it is not a question of my taste. It is a question of the nation's taste. ESPN nightly shows NCAA basketball from every power conference (even if it is Big East centric) along with a massive amount of NBA games. It charges about $4 a month per sub. Leaving out its entertainment programming, TNT (roughly $1 a month a sub) shows about a hundred NBA games, and a lot of golf tournament along with a handful of NASCAR races. The total audiences for those events alone (not even counting the entertainment programming) dwarfs that of Versus.

On some of Versus' most popular programming, NHL regular season games, the network averaged a little over 300,000 viewers last year. (Even early round Little League World Series games on ESPN outdraws that by a wide margin: over a million viewers watched the LLWS games Monday night.)

Two weeks ago, in the summer dodlrums, TNT AVERAGED 893,000 prime time viewers.

A&E (which charges about 25 cents a sub a month) averaged 690,000.

So given the marketplace, YOU assign a cash figure to what Versus is worth.

(I have a figure in my head, but it would surely annoy the Versus fans, so it will stay in my head.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebkell

I wonder what the fair market price would be if the market wasn't controlled by the cartel?

The imposing security wall being erected in East Jersusalem, is causing havoc at the Catholic-run Our Lady of Sorrows Nursing Home, where residents are fed up with politics and the problems the barrier creates in connecting the largely Palestinian Christian residents with their beloved workers.

In Georgi Lazarevski's affecting film "This Way Up," making its debut this week on "P.O.V." (PBS, 10 p.m.), some characters especially stand out, particularly an impish man with a stocking cap named Jad, and an older woman who extracts pleasure from cigarettes and the company of workers, who have a harder and harder time sneaking into work, having to cross through holes in the uncompleted walls or traverse them on ladders.

Shaquille challenges Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh to a beach volleyball match on "Shaq Vs." (ABC, 9 p.m.), which is preceded by last week's premiere at 8.

"Primetime" (ABC, 10 p.m.) profiles a group at a Colorado prison enlisted to help break and train wild mustangs from the mountains of Utah.

Jeff hosts the veto competition on "Big Brother" (CBS, 9 p.m.) among the remaining five houseguests. Will the winner save Kevin or Natalie, up for eviction?

Connecticut's own Coney Island Chris is among the final group of ten performing to get into the semifinals on "America's Got Talent" (NBC, 9 p.m.). Last week's results show gets a repeat at 8.

Keyshia Cole's scene stealing mother and sister get their own series with "Frankie & Neffe" (BET, 10:30 p.m.). It follows the finale for the first season of the series "Tiny & Toya" (BET, 10 p.m.), about the rapper T.I.'s fiance and Lil; Wayne's ex.

According to my calculations, two reruns of "90210" (The CW, 8 and 9 p.m.) add up to 180,420.

Gambling plays a role in tonight's "Hell's Kitchen" (Fox, 8 p.m.), as the remaining contestants roll dice to determine which ingredients they get to use.

Poop to paper is one of the more unappealing recycling ideas on "Big Ideas for a Small Planet" (Sundance, 8 p.m.).

"The Universe" (History, 9 p.m.) imagines the world without the moon. In a word, problems.

How the Domo stays on is a focus in "Secrets of Florence" (National Geographic, 9 p.m.).

The family film "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (Starz, 9 p.m.), which earned more than $50 million in its theatrical run, won the top prize Friday at the Imagen Awards honoring positive portrayals of Latinos and Latino culture in entertainment. How did that happen? Maybe it got sympathy votes for those still mourning the death of the Taco Bell Chihuaua, who died last month at 15.

One of the least well known stars in the month long Summer of the Stars on Turner Classic Movies must be Indian-born British actress Merle Oberon whose films show all day, with titles such as:"The Lodger" (8 p.m.)"The Scarlet Pimpernel" (9:30 p.m.)"The Divorce of Lady X" (11:30 p.m.)"The Lion Has Wings" (1 a.m.) and
"Wuthering Heights" (2:30 a.m.).

Family8 10 Things I Hate About You (30 minutes)8:30 Ruby and the Rockets (30 minutes)

Food10 Chopped: Buckwheat Blunders and Twists of Fate

Fox News Channel8 The O’Reilly Factor9 Hannity10 On The Record with Greta Van Susteren

FX6:30 The Green Mile Based on the book by Stephen King. Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell10 Rescue Me

Golf8:30 Top 10:Announcer Calls (R)9 Top 10:Phil Mickelson's Daring Shots9:30 Top 10:Sergio Garcia Headlines (R)10 Golf In America: Arnold Palmer hospital; golfers line up early to play prestigious course; Folds of Honor provides scholarships to children of fallen vets.10:30 Golf In America (R)

HDNet8 Dan Rather Reports: The Most Dangerous Place To Join A Union - Union members in Columbia working for American companies living in fear.9 HDNet World Report: Democratic Republic of the Congo: The U.N.'s Ultimate Peacekeeping Test; Tagging L.A.: Art or Vandalism?10 In Focus: Smart Travels Pacific Rim - Hong Kong10:30 In Focus: Smart Travels Pacific Rim – Sydney

HDNet Movies6 Lethal Weapon R - 1987 - Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey Director: Richard Donner
Sparks fly when a young police detective with a death wish is teamed up with a grizzled veteran nearing retirement..8 HeistR - 2001 - Cast: Gene Hackman, Danny Devito, Delroy Lindo Director: David Mamet
An aging jewel thief doesn't know who to trust when an associate insists on his nephew joining the crew for a big score.10 Devil in a Blue DressR - 1995 - Cast: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals Director: Carl Franklin. When an African American looking for work is hired to find a missing white woman, he walks into a complicated world of politics, dirty cops, and corruption.

History8 The Universe: The Moon (R)9 The Universe: The Day the Moon Was Gons10 The Universe: Great Lakes (R)

Actually this is the tail-end of a day-long marathon of "SVU" episodes that started at 6AM this morning. My DVR is saving them and tonight and tomorrow it'll be an "SVU" HD feast at my apartment. Who needs sex when you've got a "L&O" marathon to look forward to?

Giggles
Actually this is the tail-end of a day-long marathon of "SVU" episodes that started at 6AM this morning. My DVR is saving them and tonight and tomorrow it'll be an "SVU" HD feast at my apartment. Who needs sex when you've got a "L&O" marathon to look forward to?

So given the marketplace, YOU assign a cash figure to what Versus is worth.

Sad to use ESPN as the yardstick given the extortion tactics that nets them that $4/sub. Both channels should be ala carte, or at least relegated to a Sports Tier, to begin with. Neither one is worth anything in my book and I'm close to boycotting ESPN2, even though I enjoy the NHRA. Maybe when we get ala carte I'll be able to afford to actually go to Firebird Raceway and see the NHRA in action.

I was wondering if anyone else has caught Dan Patrick's radio show on DirecTv 101? I'm not a huge sports guy, but will catch shows like PTI if it's on.

Anyway, i think it's a cool use of the channel and the HD looks great.

I DVR the show every day and with ff I can see all three hours in about one hour. Radio takes a lot of breaks per hour so there is really only so much actual show to watch. But I always like the DP show and it's good to see it on the tube.

ABC and NBC had season finales of first-year shows last night, but viewers were more interested in reruns.

Repeat-laden CBS easily won the evening once again, averaging a 2.3 adults 18-49 rating and 7 share, according to Nielsen overnights. In second place with a 1.5/4 was Fox, which also had reruns.

ABC and NBC, meanwhile, finished in a tie for fourth, behind Univision, despite airing original content.

The finale of NBC’s “Great American Road Trip” at 8 p.m. managed just a 1.3, placing fourth behind CBS, Fox and Univision. “Trip” equaled its rating for last week’s penultimate episode.

At 9 p.m., ABC’s “Dating in the Dark” was actually down from the previous week, averaging a 1.7 to a 1.8 last week, when it had a higher-rated lead-in. Last week’s lead-in was “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” which averaged a 1.4. Last night’s was a “Dark” repeat, which averaged a 1.1.

Though “Dark” got off to a decent start behind “The Bachelorette” earlier this summer, the first-year dating show slipped when “Bachelorette” ended.

It seems unlikely “Trip” or “Dark” will be renewed.

Meanwhile, Univision took third for the night at 1.4/4, followed by ABC and NBC at 1.3/4 and the CW at 0.4/1.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-two percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

At 8 p.m. CBS led with a 2.1 for repeats of “How I Met Your Mother,” followed by Fox with a 1.6 for a repeat of “House.” Univision was third with a 1.4 for “El Nombre del Amor,” NBC fourth with a 1.3 for “Trip,” ABC fifth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Dark” and CW sixth with a 0.4 for a “One Tree Hill” rerun.

CBS was first again at 9 p.m. with a 2.8 for repeats of “Two and a Half Men” (2.7) and “The Big Bang Theory” (2.8), the latter finishing slightly ahead of “Men” for the third straight week. Univision moved to second with a 1.8 for “Mañana Es para Siempre.” ABC was third with a 1.7 for the finale of “Dark,” Fox fourth with a 1.4 for a “Lie to Me” rerun, NBC fifth with a 1.1 for a repeat of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and CW sixth with a 0.3 for a repeat of “Gossip Girl.”

At 10 p.m. CBS maintained the lead with a 1.9 for a repeat of “CSI: Miami,” with NBC second with a 1.4 for “Dateline.” Univision was third with a 1.2 for “Cristina” and ABC fourth with a 1.0 for a repeat of “Castle.”

CBS also led the night among households with a 4.7 average overnight rating and an 8 share. NBC was second at 3.4/6, Fox third at 2.8/5, ABC fourth at 2.5/4, Univision fifth at 1.9/3 and CW sixth at 0.6/1.

I'd be happier with more interviews and a LOT less foolish banter with Dan's staff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggiE48

I DVR the show every day and with ff I can see all three hours and about one hour. Radio takes a lot of breaks per hour so there is really only so much actual show to watch. But I always like the DP show and it's good to see it on the tube.

"America's Got Talent" on NBC was the country's favorite TV show on a very slow week. Viewership dipped as CBS brought in the most viewers and Fox was tops in the 18-to-49 age group so dear to advertisers.

CBS averaged 5.8 million viewers in prime time, edging NBC with 5.6 million. Here's how other broadcast networks fared: Fox with 5.1 million, ABC with 4.5 million, MyNetworkTV with 1.6 million and The CW with 1.1 million.

NBC and CBS tied for second in the 18-to-49 age group. Here were the week's most-watched programs on broadcast television:

I was completely blindsided by this. I thought it was almost certainly never going to happen, and now I read it may already be in production on my machines at home? Crazy.

I'm a cutting edge member and we've had double play beta for about six month. It seem like they where getting it ready for football season, This is a feature that TIVO had and DTV didn't included in there branded DVR.
Direct TV is testing MRV (muti room viewing) if you have your DVR's networked. This a really nice feature we use it on three DVR networked by power line Ethernet adapters. I hope that this will be next update to roll out system wide, you can then record and watch all your Thursday night show from any room.

It is basically an adapter than plugs into your wall out on one side and has an ethernet jack on the other side. You plug an ethernet cable on one side and and then somewhere else in the house you have at least one more of the adapters. It does the same thing and when you plug ethernet into the other adapter you have essentially created a wired ethernet connection. Essentially it is converting you Ethernet to the power line system in your house and then back to Ethernet.

fredfa, any idea on what was the audience that ESPN2 used to get on the same time slot? And I agree with the poster that said that probably no one knew the game was on anyways.... I only started watching EPL on ESPN2 this past weekend.

I'd be happier with more interviews and a LOT less foolish banter with Dan's staff.

Got to fill the time with something. What does that tell you?

All opinions expressed (unless otherwise noted) are the posters and NOT the posters employers. The poster in NO WAY is/will speak for his employers. "Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig. After a couple of hours, you realize the pig likes it"

I'm a cutting edge member and we've had double play beta for about six month. It seem like they where getting it ready for football season, This is a feature that TIVO had and DTV didn't included in there branded DVR.
Direct TV is testing MRV (muti room viewing) if you have your DVR's networked. This a really nice feature we use it on three DVR networked by power line Ethernet adapters. I hope that this will be next update to roll out system wide, you can then record and watch all your Thursday night show from any room.

Yes, my wife has been ticked about not having two buffers since we got rid of the HR10 Tivo. It will be great to have them back for football season and be able to switch between games without worrying about missing some of my primary game.

Do you have a link to any of the info on the multi-room viewing? I have a million questions about it and I don't want to go too off-topic here. Multi-room viewing was the ONLY reason I looked at U-verse recently (and I still decided to stay with DirecTV).

So The Closer had 7.3 million viewers, but more than half of them failed to stick around for Raising the Bar? Maybe if Mark-Paul Gosselaar hadn't gotten a haircut...

These two shows are the very best TNT has to offer -- at least until Men of Little Importance starts late this year.

Last night's Raising the Bar was exceptionally good, because it allowed shades of gray to appear between the usually all-white-hat defenders and all-black-hat prosecutors. It's not too late to catch this episode!

Yes, my wife has been ticked about not having two buffers since we got rid of the HR10 Tivo. It will be great to have them back for football season and be able to switch between games without worrying about missing some of my primary game.

Do you have a link to any of the info on the multi-room viewing? I have a million questions about it and I don't want to go too off-topic here. Multi-room viewing was the ONLY reason I looked at U-verse recently (and I still decided to stay with DirecTV).

Go to DBSTalk.com. I'm also a Cutting Edge tester, MRV is coming along nicely.

Also, those power line adapters will only work if everything is on the same circuit. Some larger homes have multiple circuits, which is of no use. I hard wired Cat5e to be on the safe side.

Go to DBSTalk.com. I'm also a Cutting Edge tester, MRV is coming along nicely.

Also, those power line adapters will only work if everything is on the same circuit. Some larger homes have multiple circuits, which is of no use. I hard wired Cat5e to be on the safe side.

I'm still a firm believer in this.

I figure, on a slow Saturday afternoon, after about 30 minutes of grunting, reaching and cursing (followed by a bit of spackle and paint, if necessary), I can fish an ethernet cable or two into my walls and have the most reliable way to connect stuff run, connected and forgotten about with no fiddling later. No issues with dropouts or interference from other sources and plenty of overhead if something starts throwing extra packets around the system. I even run a few long pieces of string along with the cables I run, in case I want to add any more - just tie a new cable to a string and pull it through. The ends of the strings are tied to the insides of the boxes they connect to, ready, in case I need them. I use modular face plates on all my data outlets, so I can just snap another jack into it when needed. My wire fish is a cheap plumber's snake I bought for the purpose.

In a victory for cable operators, the FCC has granted Motorola, Cisco, Pace and Thomson waivers on its set-top integration ban for what they pitched as one-way, low-cost limited-capability boxes. That means there are four more boxes that can be installed without the need to go to the FCC for an individual waiver.

The FCC said Tuesday that it had vetted the specs for the quartet of waiver requests and found them to be "no more advanced" than the Evolution Broadband boxes it previously waived. It granted the waiver, saying Public Knowledge's assertion that software upgrades could conceivably alter those capabilities "does not have merit." But it did say that hardware modifications could alter them, so that any box that differed from the specs submitted would require a separate waiver.

The FCC also recently extended a hardship waiver of the rule by overbuilder RCN and extended the waiver to low-cost HD boxes for the first time. The FCC instituted the ban on digital set-tops that integrate security and channel surfing functions in an effort to spur a retail market. But it said it would entertain waivers for low-cost boxes sans bells and whistles.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association had backed the FCC's decision to grant a three-year waiver of the FCC's integrated set-top ban for Evolution Broadband, saying the FCC had long found those waivers to be in the public interest.

Almost immediately after Evolution got its waiver--a decision in which the FCC also created a fast-track for similar waiver requests--the four other box manufacturers followed suit

A half-dozen public interest groups led by Public Knowledge asked the FCC to reconsider the Evolution waiver, and warned of opening the floodgates to more requests. That was because it was the FCC's first grant of such a waiver for a category of boxes, rather than a single cable operator's request for a specific box. That means that any cable operator can employ the Evolution box, and now the other boxes, without seeking a waiver individually.

NCTA said in a filing in support of the Evolution decision that "the commission specifically invited the filing of such requests and established a streamlined process," adding that the competition will keep prices low and won't threaten a retail market that is "developing around devices with more advanced capabilities."

In granting Evolution the waiver, the FCC did invite others to follow suit. "We recognize the potential competitive implications of this outcome and will attempt to ensure that other manufacturers with similar devices can enter and compete as quickly as possible," the commission order said. The FCC said it would put the requests out for comment for only 10 days, then act on them, suggesting it would "expeditiously grant" those waivers for similarly situated boxes.

"The ACA is pleased that the FCC is adopting policies that will allow small, independent cable providers to deploy low-cost digital set-top boxes to their customers," said American Cable Association President Matthew Polka. "The FCC's approach lowers the cost to offer digital television service to consumers and helps ACA members transition to all-digital networks and utilize old analog bandwidth to provide more HDTV channels, faster broadband access speeds, and feature-rich digital phone service."

“We are disappointed that the Media Bureau granted the waivers for low-end set-top boxes, which lock in advantages the cable companies already have while offering consumers set-top boxes with fewer features than they might otherwise get in an open market," said Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn. "The larger issue is whether the Commission is doing what Congress required back in 1996, when the Telecom Act promised an open, competitive market for full-featured set-top boxes. That vision would have given consumers more choices and more features. It’s that goal to which the Commission should aspire, rather than continually lowering the bar through the waiver process.”

ACA wants the FCC to give the waiver-eligible boxes more features, pushing it to expand the general wiaver on a whole class of boxes to ones that can process HD signals. The FCC has already granted one such wavier. "We encourage the agency to now turn its attention to the pending waiver request for HD-capable, low-cost and low-functionality consumer devices that would permit more consumers to receive HD content at a low cost," said Polka.

All opinions expressed (unless otherwise noted) are the posters and NOT the posters employers. The poster in NO WAY is/will speak for his employers. "Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig. After a couple of hours, you realize the pig likes it"